Mobile phones, tablet computers, and other types of wireless electronic devices are becoming increasingly popular as media generating, media retrieving, and media transmitting devices. To transmit media data, such as movie clips, pictures, and other types of data, from such electronic wireless devices, a cable is often used that communicatively couples the electronic device to another device, such as a computer, another electronic device, a video display device, an audio device, or a television (TV).
A cable typically includes two connectors, one for each of the interconnected devices, and electrical conductors coupling terminals of the two connectors. To transfer data via the cable, one of the connectors is coupled to a receptacle in one electronic device, while the other connector is coupled to a receptacle of another device. The connection completes one or more electrical circuits, which enables data to be transferred between the devices.
Various standards have been developed to enable electronic devices to exchange data, examples of which include universal serial bus (USB), fire wire, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), DisplayPort, and others. In order to accommodate each of these standards, dedicated data ports are typically employed in the electronic device. For example, an electronic device that has USB capability typically includes a dedicated port for a USB connector.
A pervasive trend with electronic devices is the reduction in size and increase in mobility of the electronic devices. Furthermore, the electronic devices have become more able to generate and retrieve media content. For example, many modern mobile phones are equipped with photo and video cameras, have significant storage capacity, and have relatively fast internet connectivity. Yet, the small sizes of these devices often make them inadequate for viewing various media content. Furthermore, these devices often depend on the availability of power supplied by their batteries.